<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>the heart of strategy by c_tristesse</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28175442">the heart of strategy</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/c_tristesse/pseuds/c_tristesse'>c_tristesse</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Percy Jackson and the Olympians &amp; Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Athena POV, Canon Compliant, F/M, percabeth</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 20:09:17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,058</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28175442</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/c_tristesse/pseuds/c_tristesse</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Athena's greatest ability is choosing the most intelligent approach to any tactical situation and eliminating any options that appear unsound- which is exactly why she has never approved of her daughter's relationship with Percy Jackson. And for better or worse, she is not one to easily change her mind.</p><p>An exploration of Percy and Annabeth over the years from Athena's POV.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>90</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>the heart of strategy</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>i. comrades</strong>
</p><p>Lord Zeus is not in a benevolent mood tonight. Thunder booms across Richmond, West Virginia as the dark sky swirls with clouds. Athena watches from the eyes of a snowy owl, carefully hidden among the trees. Two demigods, a tall blonde boy and a younger girl with spiky black hair, stumble into the clearing before her. They are exhausted, covered in fresh wounds and soot, having barely survived their encounter with the <em>leucrota</em>. They are easy prey here as they sit to catch their breath, movements slow with grief and fatigue.</p><p>Unlike certain Olympians, Athena has never been one to interfere. The mortal world is the ultimate test for half-bloods; she has long known the children of the gods must prove them strong enough to survive without divine intervention or accept the price of their weakness. The Goddess of Wisdom has never shied away from this truth, harsh though it may be. But it is also the reason she blesses her children with intelligence and wit above all else- in the end, they are the best weapons a demigod can have to stand a true fighting chance.</p><p>A trash can rattles in the nearby alleyway, startling the pair of demigods. They are on guard immediately and cautiously move towards the noise, weapons and shield drawn. Despite their honed battle reflexes, the small girl who leaps out of the pile of metal scrap nearly brains the blonde boy with her hammer before he can catch her arm.</p><p>“No more monsters!” the young one screams, piercing the quiet night. “Go away!” The girl is scrawny but her legs are strong, kicking out at her captor fiercely.</p><p>After a moment of struggle, the older children holster their weapons and exchange calming words. The small girl stops struggling, and the boy offers her a dagger- a weapon for only the quickest and cleverest of fighters, she hears him say. A suitable weapon for her daughter.</p><p>This meeting is not by chance. Annabeth has already shown the makings of a true hero despite her young age, which is why Athena has led her here. Athena may never offer direct assistance to heroes, but she does believe in offering them tools to increase their odds of survival. The daughter of Zeus and the son of Hermes have also been forged in the fire of battle- they will make worthy allies.</p><p>Athena overhears words of ‘family’ and looks to see Annabeth’s gray eyes shining with happiness, so much warmer than her own. She will not think less of her daughter for latching on to such empty promises at this point; she is too young to know that this companionship is nothing more than a temporary tactical advantage, that investing emotions into it will only cloud her judgment in the end.There is enough betrayal and loss in her daughter’s future to ensure she learns this lesson soon.</p><p>Fate has plans for Annabeth Chase, and so does Athena.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>ii. compromise</strong>
</p><p>The spawn of Poseidon ascends the elevator to the 600th floor of the Empire State Building while Annabeth waits in the lobby. Their quest to retrieve the Master Bolt had ended successfully, although Athena could see the answers they found would ultimately cause more problems for Olympus than solutions. If there had been another option, she would not have chosen one of her own to get involved in this mess, especially not a prophecy implicating a child of the Sea God.</p><p>But she cannot deny that the two demigods work well together: they had clearly succeeded where others with more experience would have surely failed. Despite Annabeth’s pride and the boy’s impulsivity, they had been able to come to an understanding that had saved both of their lives countless times in the space of a short few days. And as much as it irked Athena to see such a bond develop between her favorite daughter and the offspring of her deepest rival, she recognized the importance of such negotiations in Annabeth’s development as a leader.</p><p>Her daughter had held fast to the ideals Athena herself most valued: logic in the face of chaos, the ability to find a winning strategy in the worst circumstances. How could she fault her daughter for making the most of such a situation? So far, this new friendship afforded Annabeth new opportunities to make a name for herself and had not jeopardized her identity as a true child of Athena.</p><p>But in no way did that mean she approved of Percy Jackson.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>iii. concern</strong>
</p><p>Athena sits on her throne in a room of collapsed marble, an imposing figure in the full battle regalia she had donned to fight Typhon. Annabeth kneels on her right, injured but alive. And Percy Jackson stands in the center of the room, jaw now slack at the offer of immortality laid before him. She does not miss the way he hesitates to respond, glancing over to Annabeth and meeting her desperate gaze with equal fervor.</p><p>Athena’s hand tightens around her spear instinctively when the boy stammers out a refusal, but her face remains impassive and unreadable. She knows his reasons without even having to ask- she had feared this development would be on the horizon after his quest to Mount Othrys, the admission of his feelings for Annabeth as part of his fatal flaw.</p><p>For better or worse, this boy loved her own daughter with enough strength to hold the weight of the sky and resist the call of eternal power.</p><p>She has grudgingly acknowledged his prowess in combat, having managed to defend the seat of the gods’ power against all odds; now, she finds herself supporting his foresight to hold the Olympians accountable for their demigod children. But with the vast capabilities of a goddess, she can feel these emotions just as strongly as she feels distaste at seeing one of her children willingly shackle herself to such a loose cannon.</p><p>Annabeth is, beyond a doubt, the brightest child she has birthed in generations- how could this boy be worthy of her? What could he possibly offer her that would outweigh the possibilities of pain a relationship with him would surely bring? He may profess his loyalty now, but mortals were nothing if not predictable when it came to breaking such oaths. The Great Prophecy may be fulfilled but Percy Jackson remains a huge risk to her daughter’s safety, both physical and emotional.</p><p>It is these thoughts that prompt her to appear before him before he leaves Olympus. She leaves him with a charred shirt and an unveiled threat, borne of an immortal apprehension. She is as fierce a mother as she is a warrior, distant though she may be from the heavens. She will forgive this boy’s parentage after all he has done in the name of her daughter and her throne, but she will never forgive him should he ever break Annabeth’s heart.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>iv. conflict</strong>
</p><p>The world is shadow and static. Sights and sounds are deception, her mind torn in two between a void and a burning fire. She has not felt the pull of this madness in centuries, a force that turns each thought into a battlefield. The only thing she can hold onto in this moment is rage, a bloodthirsty call for revenge: this is the only way home.</p><p>The ruined goddess stands before a subway map in Grand Central Station and sees the routes Odysseus travelled to return to Ithaca. Her exact location is hazy but it matters little- no matter where she has ended up in this moment, she knows she is lost. Pillaged. Defiled.</p><p>A voice reaches her, claiming to be her daughter, and the goddess turns to see gray eyes filled with anxiety. A spark of familiarity invokes her presence as Athena and she strikes before she can forget.</p><p><em>Kill the Romans</em>, she urges the girl, trying to impress upon her just how crucial this task is. <em>Avenge me.</em></p><p>The girl looks at her as if poisoned. She does not want this quest- she only wants to inquire about her boyfriend, the spawn of a traitor and ally to her enemies. Athena scoffs and the girl’s continued confusion only serves to ignite the goddess’s fury. There is no room for refusal. She presses the drachma into the girl’s palm with a bitterness more ancient than the stars.</p><p>Following the Mark is the duty of any who carry her blood- they are bound to enact this retribution on her behalf. If this insolent child will not take up the mantle, then let her be disowned. Let all those who spurn her legacy be forced to sacrifice their gifts, their lives, their safety. Failure will not be tolerated.</p><p>Her last coherent thought before the derangement tears her soul apart again is that love has only ever been a distraction during times of war.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>v. concession</strong>
</p><p>The Goddess of Wisdom cannot recall the last time she had admitted making a mistake. However, looking at Annabeth and Percy walking hand-in-hand through the Brooklyn Aquarium, she is forced to accept that her initial assessment of their relationship may have been flawed. Together, they had overcome what Athena herself had once considered impossible tasks: surviving the quest of her Mark and its unique perils, escaping the depths of Tartarus where even gods feared to tread, and even reconciling Romans and Greeks deities to the point of creating the first tenuous bridge ever constructed across this schism.</p><p>And they had done it together. They make each other better in a way her careful analysis had not captured: not simply stronger or more likely to succeed, but the most complete versions of themselves.</p><p>Their rivalry had fostered love and growth instead of hatred. She feels nothing but pride for her daughter’s ability to build something beautiful from the ashes.</p><p>She watches the young couple share idle banter, laughing and smiling. The normalcy of it is astounding considering how they also discuss the past with a grief that does not consume them and look to the future with a hope that neither of them thought they would have again after witnessing so much death at a young age. They have found ways to heal and forgive and move forward without letting go of each other, speaking to a wisdom and maturity far beyond their ages.</p><p>The risks are still there, of course, but the goddess can now see that Annabeth’s judgement was not clouded when she decided to commit herself this boy anyways- their relationship was never about compensating for such liabilities, but accepting each others’ flaws and knowing that they would be loved for every single imperfection.</p><p>Ironically, it is their faith in one another - not the gods - that has led them to save the world twice.</p><p>Athena scowls as an annoyingly familiar face approaches her. His ridiculously pink Hawaiian shirt and matching beach shorts are loud enough to draw unwanted attention from the surrounding mortals- if they were spotted observing demigods this closely, the other Olympians would not take it kindly.</p><p>“The aquarium is full of surprises today, don’t you think?” Poseidon asks with a sunny smile. “Looks like there’s a lot more going on beneath the surface than some would have guessed. Don’t judge a crab by its shell and all that.”</p><p>Athena’s face is unamused. “The phrase you’re looking for is ‘Don’t judge a book by its cover.’ And as we both know, uncle, this story is far from over.”</p><p>“That may be true. But personally, I’m looking forward to the next chapter. Seems like this one will have a happy ending.” He offers her a conspiratorial wink before moving further into the exhibit.</p><p>“I’ll see you at the wedding!” he calls over his shoulder before disappearing into the crowd. As much as Athena dislikes the smug tone in her old rival’s voice, when she looks at the content face of her daughter, she can’t help but concede his point.</p><p>Capitalizing on unexpected opportunities is the heart of strategy, after all.</p><p>When Percy and Annabeth return to their apartment that evening, they are greeted by the sight of two gleaming baseball caps sitting on their dining table - one emblazoned with the letters of the Yankees, and the other proudly bearing the logo of the Mets.</p><p>There is no note to accompany the gift, but they both get the message anyways.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>percy: so does this mean your mom.......approves of me?????<br/>annabeth: idk, could be a low-key insult. you do know that the mets haven't won a world series in century, right<br/>percy: <i>shut your truthing mouth</i></p><p>this was a fun little warm-up exercise that got out of hand - it was an interesting challenge to capture a goddess's POV! thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed my take on Athena :)</p></blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>